


Post Paper

by dendriticgold



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-07
Updated: 2014-04-07
Packaged: 2018-01-18 13:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1430005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dendriticgold/pseuds/dendriticgold
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jimmy returns from reading the paper to Thomas and gets a grilling from Alfred. (S3 CS)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Post Paper

The pleasant smile on Jimmy’s face vanished the moment he left Thomas’s room.

He paused after closing the door behind himself, leaning with his head pressed to the wood for a moment of deep shut-eyed breathing. The disjunction between Thomas’s abused and bloodied appearance and the warm happiness and light that had been on Thomas’s face as he left weighed heavily on Jimmy’s heart.

Jimmy frowned, creasing his forehead against the door, as he gave a silent and miserable sigh; temporarily unable or unwilling to put the man on the other side of the door out of his mind.

The sound of footsteps on the landing had him quickly straightening up again. Giving a brief tug to the bottom of his shirt to pull out the rumples from sitting with Thomas, Jimmy turned on his heel and stalked his way back downstairs.

‘Where’ve you been?’ Alfred demanded as Jimmy entered the servant’s hall.

Jimmy took a moment to check that they were alone.

They were, but Jimmy still found himself reluctant to say. He also, much to his own surprise, found himself reluctant to lie.  

‘I went to see Mr Barrow.’ Said Jimmy, his voice coming out much hoarser than anticipated, prompting him to noisily clear his throat as he walked to sit by Alfred.

‘And…?’ Said Alfred in surprise.

‘And he was…in good spirits.’ Said Jimmy softly, staring down at the table.

Alfred fiddled with the newspaper in front of him for a while, silently inviting Jimmy to elaborate on…anything he felt like sharing. But Jimmy remained quiet.

Miserable and quiet.

Alfred rolled his eyes.

‘Are you going to tell me what happened?’ He said with an air of nonchalance, flipping over another page of the paper.

‘How’d you mean?’ Said Jimmy warily.

‘At the fair.’ Said Alfred easily. ‘You and Mr Barrow, at the fair.’

Jimmy’s face instantly twisted into something childish and ugly. ‘There was no ‘me and Mr Barrow’ at the fair. Who bloody said there was?’

Alfred was not the least bit cowed. Glancing over at the door to check for interlopers he leaned towards Jimmy to whisper. ‘Then why were you off walking with him, eh?’

‘I sodding wasn’t!’ Jimmy said indignantly.

An unsuspecting Maid entered at precisely that moment. Her eyes flew open wide at Jimmy’s coarse language.

She quickly mumbled something about coming back later and fled the room.

Alfred snorted and shook his head in amusement. Jimmy flushed red and resumed his inspection of the table.

‘Look…’ Alfred said carefully. ‘You’re the one who came running back to get all of us, and then you lead us to this deserted little path under a bridge…how did you know Mr Barrow was there if the two of you weren’t there together?’ Alfred shrugged. ‘Just wondering if you two had finally had a  _talk_ , a proper one, that’s all.’

‘I was just…’ Jimmy whispered back, biting his lip in agitation. ‘I was just looking for a place to…you know…’ Jimmy shifted uncomfortably. ‘…relieve myself. I had had a bit to drink…’ Alfred gave a nod of agreement. ‘…Nothing to do with Mr Barrow.’

‘I should hope not, if that were the reason!’ Said Alfred with a forced laugh, attempting to lighten Jimmy’s distress with humor. Sadly falling completely flat in the attempt. ‘But…’ He paused, wondering whether or not to push the issue but deciding that the issue REALLY needed pushing. ‘…how come Mr Barrow  _was_  there?’

The answer to that was simple enough. But Jimmy didn’t want to give it, it didn’t seem  _right_  to give it.

So he settled on an answer that contained both a lie  _and_  a truth.

‘I don’t know. But he shouldn’t have been.’


End file.
